South Side Slopes Step Trek 2009

Get ready for a vertical hike – Pittsburgh is home to thousands of city steps that help people get up and down the hills around this city. Each year the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association organizes a self guided tour of some of the different steps and points of interest around the slopes.

Sunday, October 4, 2009 – Noon to 4pm
Register at 21st and Josephine Streets – UPMC South Side Lot

Walkers will enjoy all of these features as they tour, at their own pace, approximately 2,700 steps and the intertwining streets and sidewalks that connect them. The courses have changed to offer a different perspective of the South Side Slopes. Trekkers should find the routes pedestrian friendly, especially as they explore the middle areas of the Slopes neighborhood.

The South Side Slopes may quite possibly have the most steps of any neighborhood in the United States. After all, it is home to nearly 10% of the 712 sets of steps within Pittsburgh, which has the most steps of any city in the country. The city with the next greatest amount of steps is the Ohio River town of Cincinnati, followed by

San Francisco. The steps of the combined cities, however, do not equal those in Pittsburgh. Altogether, some 66 out of the city’s 88 neighborhoods have steps. These hundreds of public stairways give tribute to the many hillside neighborhoods.

for those that are steps-addicted, earlier on the SAME DAY, the Fineview Step-a-Thon 5K run/walk is happening on the north side of the city, at 8:30 AM, with a itinerary using as many as steps and public city stairways in that neighborhood. The awards will be wood trophies in the shape of steps.

cool – I didn't know about the Fineview one too – is there a link for more info?

alex

for those that are steps-addicted, earlier on the SAME DAY, the Fineview Step-a-Thon 5K run/walk is happening on the north side of the city, at 8:30 AM, with a itinerary using as many as steps and public city stairways in that neighborhood. The awards will be wood trophies in the shape of steps.

It seems there is some confusion on the name of the event. From what I understood, in the past there was a 5K race and it was called “Fineview Step-a-thon”. This year, a new course was designed by the person that lead the Sept 13 Venture Outdoors event “Billy Goat Hike” in the same neighborhood. This new course is measured to be 4.5 miles long (incorrectly advertised to be 5 miles), weaving through the hillslopes and maximizing the use of public steps, including the longest reported set of continuous steps in the city, Raising Main St. This new course and event is called “Fineview Step Challenge”. Race started on time at 8:30, with about 25 people participating. The author of the book Steps of Pittsburgh, Ron Regan, was an observer. He said he was later going to attend the Step Trek event on the south side.

alex

neighborhood association:http://www.fineviewpittsburgh.com/index.php?opt…..photos at:http://www.meetup.com/Running-for-our-Lives/cal…..about pgh steps:http://pittsburgh.about.com/od/about_pittsburgh…..race results:http://www.runhigh.com/2009%20WEB%20RESULTS/-%2…..It seems there is some confusion on the name of the event. From what I understood, in the past there was a 5K race and it was called "Fineview Step-a-thon". This year, a new course was designed by the person that lead the Sept 13 Venture Outdoors event "Billy Goat Hike" in the same neighborhood. This new course is measured to be 4.5 miles long (incorrectly advertised to be 5 miles), weaving through the hillslopes and maximizing the use of public steps, including the longest reported set of continuous steps in the city, Raising Main St. This new course and event is called "Fineview Step Challenge". Race started on time at 8:30, with about 25 people participating. The author of the book Steps of Pittsburgh, Ron Regan, was an observer. He said he was later going to attend the Step Trek event on the south side.